Construction Site Caper; alleged thieves in court

One of the alleged thieves charged with breaking into a construction site at The College of Saint Rose and stealing a GPS, is scheduled to appear in Albany City Court Wednesday.

William Yager, 20, of 59 Dove St. in Albany, also faces charges of petty theft and possession of stolen property in Albany City Court on Thursday.

Charges against Samuel D’Amico, 20, of 2051 Rosa Road in Schenectady, who was also accused of trespassing, were adjourned in contemplation of dismissal, prior to his Sept. 9 court date.

The two men were arrested at the construction site of the Saint Rose Centennial Hall on August 11 at 4:15 a.m., according to court records obtained by The Pine Hills blog.

Yager had in his possession a Garmin Nuvi GPS unit, its charger, and a Sony car stereo faceplate, according to the police report.

The pair allegedly broke into the padlocked eight-foot fence surrounding the site last month. Yager entered a Mac CV 713 well rig parked inside the fence owned by Hanson Well Drilling and stole the GPS, Albany police reported. That unit and faceplate are worth $400 and $85 respectively, according to police.

D’Amico, charged with a misdemeanor count of criminal trespassing, was initially “released under supervision,” according to court documents. The court also ordered him to stay away from Saint Rose as a condition of his release.

Yager was impaired by alcohol at the time of the incident, according to the report.

Both men are unemployed.

Yager told police the stolen items came “from one of the cars we broke into… down by Yates St.,” the report said. Yager was remanded to Albany County Jail on $2,000 bail, and posted bail and was released on Aug. 17, according to court records. He was also ordered to “stay away” from Saint Rose and the court imposed a 7 p.m. curfew and told him to abide by the “rules of household,” as additional conditions of his release. He was also issued a restraining order prohibiting him from contact with the owner of the GPS.

“This was the first issue at the site,” said Cpl. Isaac Paul, the Saint Rose security guard who responded to the early morning call.

Car break-ins on campus are “not at all a [recurring] problem,” said Paul, who has worked as a Saint Rose security guard for four years. “This kind of [crime] happens more when school is in session.”